Map Shows 10 Best Cities For Young Homeowners

At a time when homeownership has been pushed out of reach for many young Americans, the Midwest represents a bright spot for Gen Zers and millennials looking to step onto the property ladder, according to a recent study.

An analysis conducted by U.S. customer review and consumer news platform ConsumerAffairs found that seven of the top 10 most accessible U.S. metropolitan areas for young people are in this region. These include Omaha, Nebraska, which ranked as the best metro in the entire country for homebuyers under the age of 35.

What Are The Best U.S. Cities For Young People To Become Homeowners?

Omaha was the best metro in the entire country for young homeowners, with more than 62 percent of mortgages in 2023 taken out by people under the age of 35—the highest rate in the country. Over 18 percent of Omahans under the age of 35 own their homes—the ninth-highest young homeownership rate in the country and four percentage points above the national average.

However, homeownership among young people has actually shrunk slightly since 2019 (-0.6 percent) in the Omaha metro—which includes Council Bluffs, Iowa—as its housing market heated up during the pandemic homebuying frenzy.

It was followed by Provo, Utah, with the highest rate of homeownership among people under the age of 35, at 24.4 percent and 47.7 percent buyers under the age of 35 taking out home purchase loans in 2023. According to ConsumerAffairs, Provo ranked so high in its list because of the impact of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the city, where many faithfuls think of starting up their own families.

The other eight best cities for young homeowners in the country were Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Des Moines, Iowa; Wichita, Kansas; Cincinnati, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Akron, Ohio.

The ConsumerAffairs’ analysis was based on 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data on homeownership rates among individuals under the age of 35 and 2023 data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC).

Why Are These Metros Better For Young People?

Younger generations—especially millennials—have been hit by a series of economic crises in their formative years which have profoundly undermined their ability to save up to buy a home and reach those milestones which were once considered achievable under the age of 30.

The rapid growth of home prices over the past five years has far outpaced that of wages, at the same time as mortgage rates have reached unprecedented highs—and have remained there for the past three years.

The median sale price of a typical U.S. home was $446,766 in June, according to Redfin, up 1 percent from a year earlier but 44 percent from June 2020. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular home loan in the country, was at 6.72 percent as of July 31, according to Freddie Mac.

Property taxes have also risen in step with the surge in property values. According to a report by online lending marketplace LendingTree published in May, median property taxes in the U.S. rose by an average of 10.4% between 2021 and 2023.

Meanwhile, home insurance premiums are climbing as a result of the growing threat posed by more frequent, more severe natural disasters. According to a report earlier this year from the Treasury Department, between 2018 and 2022, consumers living in the 20 percent of ZIP Codes with the highest expected annual losses to buildings from climate-related perils paid an average $2,321 in premiums. That is 82 percent more than those in the 20 percent lowest climate-risk ZIP Codes.

These circumstances are making homeownership unaffordable for millions of Americans: add to this formula the burden of student loan debt that many young people in the country are carrying, and the dream of owning a home gets even more unattainable.

Under these conditions, more affordable areas of the country are where young people can hope to buy a home.

“Young people [in the Midwest] don’t feel as though they’re stretching each dime, and they don’t feel as if they’re falling behind,” Jacob Naig, a real estate agent and investor based in Des Moines, Iowa, told Consumer Affairs. “They can own a house, rehabilitate it and perhaps even make an investment in a second property within five years. That sort of momentum is hard to find in larger metros.”

Des Moines, Iowa, has seen significant population growth in recent years which can be in part traced back to young people either relocating from other states or moving back after having left the city. Many have told Newsweek that the affordability of Des Moines’ housing market was the main reason behind their decision to live in the city.